Method and system for methanol production

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method of producing methanol includes reacting a heated hydrocarbon-containing gas and an oxygen-containing gas in a reactor; to provide a product stream comprising methanol; and transferring heat from the product stream to the hydrocarbon-containing gas to heat the hydrocarbon containing gas. After removing methanol and CO 2  from the product stream, unprocessed hydrocarbons are mixed with the hydrocarbon containing gas for reprocessing through the reactor. Reactor byproducts are injected into the ground to increase the output of a hydrocarbon producing well.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/446,371, filed on Jun. 2, 2006, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/432,692, filed on May 11, 2006, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/351,532, filed on Feb. 10, 2006. U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 11/446,371, 11/432,692, and 11/351,532 arecontinuation-in-part applications of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/319,093, filed on Dec. 27, 2005 which is a continuation-in-partapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/901,717, filed onJul. 29, 2004. The disclosures of the above applications areincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus forproducing methanol.

Methods and apparatuses for the conversion of methane into methanol areknown. It is known to carry out a vapor-phase conversion of methane intoa synthesis gas (mixture of CO and H₂) with its subsequent catalyticconversion into methanol as disclosed, for example, in Karavaev M. M.,Leonov B. E., et al “Technology of Synthetic Methanol”, Moscow,“Chemistry” 1984, pages 72-125. However, in order to realize thisprocess it is necessary to provide complicated equipment, to satisfyhigh requirements for the purity of the gas, to spend high quantities ofenergy for obtaining the synthesis gas and for its purification, and tohave a significant number of intermittent stages from the process. Also,for medium and small enterprises with the capacity of less than 2,000tons/day it is not economically feasible.

Russian Patent No. 2,162,460 includes a source of hydrocarbon-containinggas, a compressor and a heater for compression and heating of the gas,and a source of oxygen-containing gas with a compressor. It furtherincludes successively arranged reactors with alternating mixing andreaction zones and a means to supply the hydrocarbon-containing gas intoa first mixing zone of the reactor and the oxygen-containing gas intoeach mixing zone, a recuperative heat exchanger for cooling of thereaction mixture through a wall by a stream of coldhydrocarbon-containing gas of the heated hydrocarbon-containing gas intoa heater, a cooler-condenser, a partial condenser for separation ofwaste gasses and liquid products with a subsequent separation ofmethanol, a pipeline for supply of the waste gas into the initialhydrocarbon-containing gas, and a pipeline for supply of wasteoxygen-containing products into the first mixing zone of the reactor.

In this apparatus, however, it is not possible to provide a fastwithdrawal of heat of the highly exothermic oxidation reaction of thehydrocarbon-containing gas because of the inherent limitations of theheat exchanger. This leads to the necessity to reduce the quantity ofsupplied hydrocarbon-containing gas and, further, it reduces the degreeof conversion of the hydrocarbon-containing gas. Moreover, even with theuse of oxygen as an oxidizer, it is not possible to provide an efficientrecirculation of the hydrocarbon-containing gas due to the rapidincrease of the concentration of carbon oxides. A significant part ofthe supplied oxygen is wasted for oxidation of CO into CO₂, whichadditionally reduces the degree of conversion of the initialhydrocarbon-containing gas to useful products and provides a furtheroverheating of the reaction mixture. The apparatus also requires burningan additional quantity of the initial hydrocarbon-containing gas inorder to provide the utility needs of a rectification of liquidproducts. Since it is necessary to cool the gas-liquid mixture aftereach reactor for separation of liquid products and subsequent heatingbefore a next reactor, the apparatus is substantially complicated andthe number of units is increased.

A further method and apparatus for producing methanol is disclosed inthe patent document RU 2,200,731, in which compressed heatedhydrocarbon-containing gas and compressed oxygen-containing gas areintroduced into mixing zones of successively arranged reactors, and thereaction is performed with a controlled heat pick-up by cooling of thereaction mixture with water condensate so that steam is obtained, and adegree of cooling of the reaction mixture is regulated by parameters ofescaping steam, which is used in liquid product rectification stage.

Other patent documents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,196,188; 2,722,553;4,152,407; 4,243,613; 4,530,826; 5,177,279; 5.959,168 and InternationalPublication WO 96/06901 disclose further solutions for transformation ofhydrocarbons. It is believed that the existing methods and apparatus forproducing methanol can be further improved.

SUMMARY

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a methodof and an apparatus for producing methanol, which is a furtherimprovement of the existing methods and apparatuses.

It is another feature of the present teachings to provide a method ofand an apparatus for producing methanol which can be used with minimalprocessing of gas and gas-condensate deposits, and also at any gasconsumer, such as power plants, gas distributing and gas reducingstations, chemical production facilities, etc., or small methaneproducers, (i.e., coal mines, oil production (flares), landfills,farms.)

In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparenthereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, brieflystated, in a method of producing methanol, which includes the steps ofsupplying into a reactor a hydrocarbon-containing gas stream, supplyinginto the reactor an oxygen containing gas; carrying out in the reactoran oxidation of the hydrocarbon-containing gas by oxygen of saidoxygen-containing gas; and, after removing impurities and products ofthe reaction, recycling un-reacted hydrocarbon gas into thehydrocarbon-containing gas stream for further reaction.

Another feature of the present teachings is an apparatus for producingmethanol, which has a reactor for receiving and reacting ahydrocarbon-containing gas stream from a well or other source with anoxygen-containing gas, to carry out in the reactor oxidation of theheated hydrocarbon-containing gas by oxygen of said oxygen-containinggas. The apparatus also has a mechanism for supplying into the reactor anon-oxidizing coolant to be directly mixed with a mixture of said heatedhydrocarbon containing gas and said oxygen containing gas at a laterstage of the reaction to inhibit the further oxidation and decompositionof formaldehyde. Un-reacted hydrocarbon-containing gas is then processedto remove products and contaminants before being recycled back into thehydrocarbon-containing gas stream. Reaction byproducts, such as CO₂, canbe injected into the ground at a predetermined distance from a well toincrease the output of the well.

As can be seen, in accordance with the present teachings, a heatedhydrocarbon-containing gas stream and oxygen-containing gas are suppliedinto a reaction zone or into a reactor, where a gas phase oxidation ofthe hydrocarbon-containing gas is performed at elevated temperature andpressure in the reaction zone. The reaction mixture is cooled and thenis separated into waste gas and liquid product. The waste gas isscrubbed to remove CO₂ and formaldehyde and returned to the heatedhydrocarbon-containing gas stream. Cold hydrocarbon-containing gas issupplied into a regulation zone of the reactor to reduce the temperatureof the hydrocarbon-containing gas thereby to provide a redistribution ofthe ratio of products to produce corresponding quantities of methanoland formaldehyde. Methanol produced can then be injected into a naturalgas stream to reduce the formation of hydrates within the pipeline.

In accordance with the present teachings, during cooling of the reactionmixture in the partial condenser, heat is transmitted to an input streamsupplied into a formaldehyde rectification column for performingrectification of formaldehyde and simultaneous regeneration of theprimary scrubber solvent, methanol. Within the partial condenser, drygas is separated from raw liquids, including methanol, ethanol, andwater. The raw liquids, through the flash drum, are supplied into arectification column. The temperature of the top of the column is,between about 70 and about 75° C., the pressure in the column is, forexample, up to 0.2 MPa. The final product is supplied to storage orfurther processing. The dry gas is scrubbed to remove CO₂ andformaldehyde and is then returned to the reactor in the hydrocarboninput stream. CO₂ can then be injected into the ground at apredetermined distance from a well to increase the output of the well.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for thepresent invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.The invention itself, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views schematically showing a system of an apparatusfor producing methanol in accordance with the present teachings;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are views illustrating concentrations of oxygen,formaldehyde and methanol during reactions in accordance with the priorart and in accordance with the present invention correspondingly;

FIG. 4 represents a graph depicting the yield oxygenates of the systemas a function of recycle ratio;

FIG. 5 represents an alternate methane to methanol plant according tothe teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 6 represents an optional oxygen producing plant shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 depicts a gas processing portion of the plant shown in FIG. 5;and

FIG. 8 represents the liquid processing portion of the plant shown inFIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An apparatus for producing methanol in accordance with the presentinvention has a reactor 100 which facilitates a gas phase oxidation of ahydrocarbon-containing gas is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1B detailsthe inputs and outputs of the reactor. The reactor 100 has a reactionzone 102 which is provided with a device 104 for introducing a heatedhydrocarbon-containing gas stream and a device 105 for introducing anoxygen-containing gas. As explained in detail below, theoxygen-containing gas preferably has greater than 80% oxygen content toreduce the accumulation of inert gases by the recycling process.

The reactor 100 further has a regulation zone 108 provided with anoptional device 110 for introducing a cold hydrocarbon-containing gasstream for reducing the temperature of reaction during operation of theapparatus. In addition, the reactor 100 is provided with thermal pockets112 for control and regulation of temperatures in corresponding zones,provided for example with thermocouples.

The apparatus has a device 114 for cooling the reaction mixture beforeseparation. Additionally, the partial condenser 122 incorporates agas-liquid heat exchanger to further reduce the temperature of theproducts. The condenser 122 separates H₂O and alcohols from ahydrocarbon-CO₂ mixture. The partial condenser 122 is preferablyisobaric, as opposed to isothermal, to avoid pressure losses. Theproduct stream enters, and liquid stream and gaseous stream exit thecondenser 122.

Block 139 represents equipment which is configured to separatecontaminants and products from a hydrocarbon-containing recycle gascomponent. In this regard, the equipment 139 is configured to remove CO₂from the reduced product stream. The equipment 139 can take the form ofa purge valve, absorber, membrane separator, or an adsorber. It isenvisioned the equipment 139 can be used to regulate the percentage ofother non-reactive components such as N₂ with, for example, a purgevalve.

In the event the system is configured to recover formaldehyde, thegaseous reduced product stream leaves the isobaric condenser 122 and ispassed to the scrubber 134. Other potential methods which can beutilized use materials such as various amines known to remove CO₂ andformaldehyde.

To fulfill the minimum absorption requirements, modification of the flowrate of methanol or operating temperature of the scrubber column can beused. If it is desirable to operate at extremely low absorbent flowrates, then a lower temperature can be utilized, for example 0° C. If itis desirable to operate at ambient temperatures or temperaturesachievable via cooling water, then a high flow rate can be utilized, forexample, ten times that of the flow rate for 0° C. In either scenario,the pregnant methanol absorbent stream 14 is completely regenerated bythe formaldehyde distillation column 138. Optionally, the stream 14 fromthe scrubber 134 can be passed through the condenser 122 to providecooling of the product stream and preheating of the methanol recycle toimprove the energy efficiency of the formaldehyde distillation column138.

The reactor 100 is connected with a compressor 124 and heater 126 forsupply of compressed and heated oxygen-containing gas. The rawhydrocarbon-containing gas is mixed with cleaned hydrocarbon gas fromthe scrubber 134 and is heated using a heater 136. In the event the rawhydrocarbons have a high CO₂ content, the raw hydrocarbons can be mixedwith the reduced product hydrocarbon stream from the condenser 122 priorto the entry of the scrubber 134 for removal of contaminant gases priorto entering the reactor.

The apparatus further has a unit for rectification of methanol whichincludes a flash drum 132, rectification column 128, and a vessel 130from which methanol is supplied to storage or further processing. Thisrectification column 128 is used to separate methanol (light-keycomponent) from ethanol (heavy-key component) and water (non-keycomponent). As before, it is desirable for a portion of the heavy key toenter the distillate stream (as dictated by commercial specification forformalin). For methanol rectification, 99% or higher purity is typicaland 99.999% is achievable with multiple columns. Stream 4 enters thecolumn and the distillate, stream 5, and bottoms, stream 8, exit thecolumn in liquid phase. Stream 8 has some amount of ethanol (and perhapsmethanol, if ultra pure methanol was produced) and will be used as thebasis of the aqueous makeup of the commercial formalin stream (stream11). In this manner, some of the ethanol is recovered before theremainder is discarded in the liquid waste stream.

Disposed between the column 128 and the condenser 122 is a flash drum132 for removal of CO₂ and formaldehyde from the liquid product stream.The purpose of the flash drum 132 is to drop the pressure to anappropriate level before entry into the methanol rectification column128 and to substantially remove any dissolved gases, typically CO₂ andformaldehyde, from the liquid product stream.

In operation, the raw hydrocarbon-containing gas stream with a methanecontent for example up to 98% and the reduced hydrocarbon product streamare supplied from an installation for preparation of gas or any othersource to the heater 136, in which it is heated to temperature 430-470°C. The heated hydrocarbon-containing gas is then supplied into thereaction zone 102 of the reactor 100. Compressed air with pressure, forexample, of 7-8 MPa and with a ratio 80% to 100% and, preferably, 90% to95% oxygen is supplied by the compressor 124 also into the reaction zone102 of the reactor 100. Oxidation reaction takes place in the reactionzone 102 of the reactor 100. Between 2% and 3% O₂ of the total volume ofthe reactants are reacted with the heated hydrocarbon-containing gasstream as previously described. To limit the amount of N₂ within thesystem, for example to less than 30%-40%, or reduce the requisite sizeof the purge stream to achieve the same, the O₂ stream is preferablysubstantially pure, thus limiting the amount of N₂ entering the system.

An optional second stream of cold or in other words a lower temperaturecoolant than the gases in the reactor is supplied through theintroducing device 108 into the regulation zone of the reactor 100. Thisstream is regulated by the regulating device 120, which can be formed asa known gas supply regulating device, regulating valve or the like. Thiscold stream can be, for example, composed of a raw hydrocarbon stream, arecycled stream, or a portion or combination of the two. The regulatoris configured to adjust the volume or pressure of coldhydrocarbon-containing gas based on system parameters such as, but notlimited to, pressure, temperature or reaction product percentages downstream in the system.

The coolant, which is supplied from a coolant source, functions toreduce the temperature of the partially oxidized methane to reduce thecontinued oxidation or decomposition of formaldehyde. This coolant canbe any material which can easily be separated from the reaction productstream. For example, as better described below, the coolant can be anunheated hydrocarbon or methane containing gas stream.

Preferably, the coolant can be any non-oxidizing material which can beeasily separated from the reaction products. In this regard, the coolantcan be gaseous or an aerosoled or misted liquid of, for example, CO₂,formaldehyde, methanol, water or steam. It is additionally envisionedthat the coolant can further be a mixture of recycled reaction products,water, steam, and/or raw hydrocarbon gases.

Depending on the intended mode of operation of the apparatus, inparticular the intended production of methanol or methanol andformaldehyde, the reaction mixture is subjected to the reaction in thereactor without the introduction of the cold hydrocarbon-containing gasif it is desired to produce exclusively methanol. The introduction ofthe cold hydrocarbon-containing gas is used when it is desired toproduce methanol and formaldehyde. By introduction of the coldhydrocarbon-containing gas, the temperature of the reaction is reducedfor example by 30-90° so as to preserve the content of formaldehyde intothe separated mixture by reducing the decomposition of the formaldehydeto CO₂.

The reaction mixture is supplied into the heat exchanger 114 fortransfer of heat to the reactor input stream from the reaction mixtureexiting the reactor, and after further cooling is supplied withinpartial condenser 122. Separation of the mixture into high and lowvolatility components, (dry gas and raw liquid, respectively) isperformed in the partial condenser 122 which may absorb at least some ofthe formaldehyde into the raw liquid stream as desired. The dry gas isforwarded to a scrubber 134, while the raw liquids from the condenser122 are supplied to the flash drum 132.

The scrubber 134 functions to remove the CO₂ and formaldehyde from thedry gas stream. In this regard, the scrubber 134 uses both H₂O andmethanol at between 7-8 MPa pressure and between about 0° C. and about50° C. to absorb CO₂ and formaldehyde. Once the CO₂ and formaldehyde areremoved, the reduced stream of hydrocarbon gas is recycled by mixing thereduced stream with the raw hydrocarbon-containing gas stream eitherbefore or within the reactor, as desired. The raw hydrocarbon andreduced streams, individually or in combination, are then inputted intothe reaction chamber 100 at input 104 or input 110 after being heated byheat exchanger 116 and heater 136 as previously described.

The rectification column is used to separate carbon dioxide (non-keycomponent) and formaldehyde (light-key component) from methanol(heavy-key component) and water (non-key component). The pregnantmethanol steam, stream 14, enters the rectification column and isseparated into a formaldehyde distillate, stream 16, and a bottomsstream, stream 15. Some amount of methanol in the distillate stream isdesirable since methanol is used as a stabilizer for the production ofcommercial grade formalin (6-15% alcohol stabilizer, 37% formaldehyde,and the balance being water). By allowing a portion of the heavy keyinto the distillate stream the separation is more easily achieved;furthermore, process losses typically experienced during absorbentregeneration are subsequently nullified as methanol within thedistillate is used for formalin production. Stream 15 is supplemented bystream 31 so as to replace any methanol which was transferred to thedistillate stream, stream 16. Combining stream 31 and stream 15 resultsin stream 17, which then returns to the scrubber 134 as regeneratedmethanol absorbent. Meanwhile, the formaldehyde distillate, stream 16,combines with the vapors from flash drum 132, stream 7, to form amixture of formaldehyde, methanol, and carbon dioxide.

The formaldehyde, water, methanol and CO₂ removed by scrubber 134 arepassed to formaldehyde rectification column 138. Column 138 removesformaldehyde and CO₂ from the methanol-water stream. Small amounts ofmethanol are combined with produced methanol and are inputted into thescrubber 134 to remove additional amounts of CO₂ and formaldehyde fromthe reduced hydrocarbon stream.

Free or non-aqueous formaldehyde is allowed to remain in the gas phaseby operation of the isobaric condenser 122. The liquid methanol productstream, or raw liquids, would then comprise methanol, ethanol, and waterby allowing formaldehyde to remain in the gaseous stream. In this case,the liquid stream exiting the isobaric condenser 122 can bypass theformaldehyde rectification portion of the process and enter the methanolrectification column after having optionally passed through the flashdrum 132.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show diagrams of the concentration of oxygen, formaldehydeand methanol in reactions without cooling and with cooling,respectively.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, approximately after 2 sec, oxygen is burntcompletely. At this moment the reaction temperature reaches its maximumand methanol and formaldehyde are produced in their respectiveproportions within the reaction mixture. Methanol is a more stableproduct at the end of the reaction and its concentration remainssubstantially stable after reaching its maximum concentration.Formaldehyde is less stable, and therefore with a temperature increase(the temperature increases until oxygen is burnt completely) itsconcentration somewhat reduces.

In the reaction with the cooling shown in FIG. 3, via the introductionof cold gas when the formation of methanol and formaldehyde iscompleted, the temperature of a final period of the reaction is reducedso as to inhibit the decomposition of formaldehyde.

FIG. 4 represents a graph depicting the yield of oxygenates for thesystem as a function of the recycle ratio of the recycling hydrocarbongasses. Shown is a graph depicting the use of Michigan Antrim gas having97% CH₄ and 1% N₂. In this regard, the graph shows a significantincrease in product yield using the same input stream and with littleincrease in capital costs. As the system efficiently manages pressureand integrates process energy usage, energy requirements are minimized,thus increasing the overall system economics.

FIG. 5 represents an alternate methane to methanol plant 150. The plant150 is positioned to process methane from gas being discharged fromeither a combined oil and gas field 152 or the gas field 154. The plant150, which is preferably located in close proximity to the well bore, isgenerally formed of a gas processing plant 156, a liquid processingplant 158, and an oxygen producing plant 160. Additionally associatedwith the plant 150 are waste water treatment and utility plants 162 and164.

As shown in FIG. 6, an optional oxygen producing plant 160 can be usedto assist in the regulation of the partial oxidation of the hydrocarbonstream in the reactor 100. The oxygen producing plant 160 has acompressor 161 coupled to a heat exchanger 163 which functions toprepare the compressed oxygen for injection into a plurality ofabsorbers 165. After passing through the absorbers, the produced oxygenstream is compressed and forwarded directly to the reactor 100.

With general reference to FIG. 7, the gas processing portion of theplant 156 generally functions as described above (see FIGS. 1A and 1B).In this regard, the gas processing plant 156 has compressors 170 and 172for raising the pressure of a cleaned incoming hydrocarbon stream 174.This stream 174 is then divided and reacted with oxygen in the reactor100 to partially oxidize methane as described above. It is envisionedthat the parameters such as time of reaction and temperature andpressure within the reactor can be adjusted to selectively control theamount of CO₂, H₂O, formaldehyde and methanol which is produced in thereactor 100. The reaction products 176 from the reactor are thentransferred to the liquid processing plant 158.

As shown in FIG. 8, the liquid processing plant 158 generally functionsas described above to separate the methanol and formaldehyde from thereaction product stream 176. Shown are associated distillers, blendersand flash drums which are used to separate the constituent materials ofthe reaction product stream as described in detail above. Specifically,CO₂ is removed from the reaction product stream as are methanol and, ifdesired, formaldehyde. The scrubber 134 (see FIG. 5) prevents theaccumulation of CO₂ and allows the physical capture of formaldehyde. Thescrubber 134 can utilize a mixture of methanol and water to physicallyabsorb formaldehyde and CO₂ from the hydrocarbon gas recycle loop 135.The efficiency of the scrubber 134, which can operate adequately withoutrefrigeration, is made possible due to the high operating pressure ofthe recycle loop 135. This is opposed to cryogenically low temperaturesutilized by traditional absorption processes. The gases enter thescrubber 134 as a “dirty” gas with some amount of formaldehyde and CO₂present. These components will only be present in relatively diluteamounts, so the duty of the methanol absorbent is also relatively small.

As previously mentioned, it is envisioned that the output of the reactorcan be selectively adjusted so as to minimize the amount of formaldehydebeing produced by the gas process portion of the plant 156. While theCO₂ can be vented, it is specifically envisioned that the CO₂ from thereaction products can be injected, at a predetermined distance from thewell, into the ground to increase the output of the well. In thisregard, it is envisioned that the CO₂ can be injected at any appropriatedistance from the well so as to allow for the increase of subterraneanpressures to increase the gas or oil output of the well. Additionally,it is envisioned that the CO₂ can be injected into the casement of thewellbore or in the near-wellbore zone, to increase the output of the gasor oil and gas producing well.

While shown as a land based plant, it is specifically envisioned thatthe plant 100 can be associated with an off-shore oil rig. In thisregard, the plant 100 would either be on the off-shore rig or would be apredetermined short distance from the rig, such as immediately adjacentto the off-shore rig on a floatable platform. In the case of anoff-shore rig, which is producing natural gas, it is envisioned that themethanol converted from the methane containing hydrocarbon stream wouldbe injected into a second portion of the methane containing hydrocarbonstream to improve the flow of the hydrocarbon stream from the off-shoreoil well to land. This methanol is injected to reduce the formation ofhydrates within the piping. The methanol associated with the natural gaswould then be removed from the hydrocarbon containing stream after thestream reaches the shore.

It is further envisioned that any of the other reaction products,namely, CO₂, water or methanol can be injected directly into thehydrocarbon containing subterranean formations surrounding the platformor a land-based well. Specifically, it is envisioned that methanol canbe injected into hydrate structures surrounding the well so as toincrease the output of natural gas from a natural gas producing well.

Returning briefly to FIG. 5, it is envisioned that the CO₂ can beinjected into one portion of the well while methanol or other reactionproducts can be injected into other portions of the well. In situationswhere the natural gas may be stranded or may have nitrogen contents ofgreater than 4%, facilities may be provided to manage nitrogen build-upin the recycle loop. When outputs of any particular well 152, 154 arelow, it is envisioned that a single plant 100 having a truncated processcan be used. In these situations, only portions of the facility relatedto the partial oxidation of the hydrocarbon stream and associatedfacilities to remove CO₂ will be used near the well.

Removed CO₂ can be collected, vented or reinjected into the ground.Immediately after removal of the natural gas and associated CO₂ by thescrubber, the remaining liquid products can be transported in liquidform from the well site to another location for separation offormaldehyde, methanol and water from the waste stream. In this regard,it is envisioned a centralized liquid processing plant to finalize theprocessing of the liquid processes (158) can be located at a significantdistance from the stranded natural gas locations. This allows for theuse of a centralized liquid process facility 158. It is also envisionedthat the conditions of the reactor can be adjusted to produce a liquidphase which contains a commercial grade of formalin.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofmethods and constructions differing from the types described above.While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inthe method of and apparatus for producing methanol, it is not intendedto be limited to the details shown, since various modifications andstructural changes may be made without departing in any way from thespirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

1. A method of producing methanol comprising: converting a first methanecontaining gas into methanol, CO₂, H₂O, ethanol, and formaldehyde usinga partial oxidation reaction; separating the CO₂ from the reactionproducts; and injecting the CO₂ at a predetermined distance from a wellinto the ground to increase the output of the well.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1 wherein converting a first methane containing gasis accomplished while adjusting the amount of CO₂, H₂O, and formaldehydeproduced by adjusting the reactor's feed composition and processparameters so as to influence the selectivity of the reaction.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1 wherein converting methane gas to methanolincludes providing an oxygen containing gas; providing a first methanecontaining gas, reacting the oxygen containing gas with the methanecontaining gas to form a reaction product stream, and directly mixing acoolant with the reaction product stream to adjust the degree ofoxidation of formaldehyde, thereby increasing the proportion of CO₂ andH₂O to formaldehyde.
 4. The method according to claim 4 wherein directlymixing a coolant includes directly mixing a second methane containinggas stream into the reaction product stream.
 5. The method according toclaim 5 wherein at least a portion of the first and second methanecontaining gas streams are taken from the well.
 6. The method accordingto claim 5 wherein the first and second methane containing gas streamsare taken from the well.
 7. A method of producing methanol comprising:partially oxidizing a hydrocarbon gas containing stream to form areaction product stream comprising CO₂; separating CO₂ from the reactionproduct stream; and injecting the CO₂ into the ground within apredetermined distance from a well.
 8. The method according to claim 7wherein the hydrocarbon stream comprises methane.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 7 wherein partially oxidizing a hydrocarbon gasincludes reacting a methane containing stream with an oxygen containingstream to form a reaction product stream.
 10. The method according toclaim 9 further comprising injecting a second hydrocarbon gas from thereaction product stream to regulate the reaction product.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10 wherein the reaction product stream comprisesmethanol, formaldehyde, H₂O and CO₂.
 12. The method according to claim11 further comprising reacting the reaction stream to convert theformaldehyde to CO₂, and H₂O.
 13. A method of transferring hydrocarbongas containing stream from an off-shore platform comprising: convertinga portion of methane containing gas from the hydrocarbon gas containingstream into methanol, CO₂, H₂O, ethanol and formaldehyde; separating themethanol from the reaction products; injecting the methanol into themethane containing gas stream; separating the CO₂ from the reactionproducts.
 14. The method according to claim 13 further comprisinginjecting the CO₂ at a predetermined distance from a well into theground to increase the output of the well.
 15. The method according toclaim 13 wherein converting a methane containing gas is controlling theamount of CO₂, H₂O, and formaldehyde produced in a partial oxidationreactor.
 16. The method according to claim 13 wherein converting amethane containing gas includes partially oxidizing the methane streamusing a plurality of reactors to increase the per-pass conversion of themethane to methanol and further oxidize the formaldehyde product intoCO₂ and H₂O.
 17. The method according to claim 13 wherein convertingmethane gas to methanol includes providing an oxygen containing gas;providing a first methane containing gas, reacting the oxygen containinggas with the methane containing gas to form a reaction product stream,and directly mixing a coolant with the reaction product stream to adjustthe proportion of CO₂ and H₂O to formaldehyde.
 18. The method accordingto claim 17 wherein directly mixing a gas includes directly mixing asecond methane containing gas stream into the reaction product stream.19. The method according to claim 5 wherein the first and second methanecontaining gas streams are taken from the well.
 20. A method ofproducing methanol comprising: partially oxidizing a hydrocarbon gascontaining stream to form a reaction product stream comprising methanoland CO₂; separating CO₂ from the reaction product stream; and injectingthe CO₂ into the ground within a predetermined distance from a well. 21.The method according to claim 20 wherein the hydrocarbon streamcomprises methane having greater than 4% nitrogen.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 21 wherein partially oxidizing a hydrocarbon gasincludes reacting a methane containing stream with an oxygen containingstream to form a reaction product stream within a plurality of reactorsto minimize the formation of formaldehyde to below 0.5%.
 23. The methodaccording to claim 22 further comprising injecting a second gas from thereaction product stream to regulate the reaction product.
 24. The methodaccording to claim 23 wherein the reaction product stream comprisesmethanol, formaldehyde, H₂O, ethanol and CO₂.
 25. The method accordingto claim 24 further comprising reacting the reaction stream to convertthe formaldehyde to CO₂, and H₂O.
 26. A method of transporting a methanecontaining hydrocarbon stream from an off-shore hydrocarbon producingwell comprising: converting methane from a first portion of the methanecontaining hydrocarbon stream into methanol and reaction products withina first predetermined distance from the well; separating the methanolfrom the reaction products; and injecting the methanol into a secondportion of the methane containing hydrocarbon stream.
 27. The methodaccording to claim 26 further comprising separating CO₂ from thereaction products.
 28. The method according to claim 27 furthercomprising injecting the CO₂ at a second predetermined distance from theoff-shore hydrocarbon producing well.
 29. The method according to claim26 wherein the reaction products comprise H₂O, ethanol and formaldehyde.30. The method according to claim 29 further comprising separating H₂Ofrom the reaction stream and injecting at least one of CO₂ and H₂O intothe ground at a third predetermined distance from the off-shorehydrocarbon producing well.
 31. The method according to claim 27 furthercomprising injecting the CO₂ into a well casing of the off-shorehydrocarbon producing well.
 32. The method according to claim 26 whereinconverting the methanol from a methane containing hydrocarbon streamincludes providing an oxygen containing gas; providing a first methanecontaining gas, reacting the oxygen containing gas with the methanecontaining gas to form a reaction product stream, and directly mixing acoolant with the reaction product stream in a reactor to adjust thedegree of oxidation of formaldehyde, thereby increasing the proportionof CO₂ and H₂O to formaldehyde.
 33. The method according to claim 32wherein directly mixing a coolant includes directly mixing a secondmethane containing gas stream into the reaction product stream.
 34. Themethod according to claim 33 wherein the first and second methanecontaining gas streams are taken from the off-shore hydrocarbonproducing well.
 35. A method of producing methanol comprising: partiallyoxidizing a first portion of a hydrocarbon gas containing stream from anoff-shore hydrocarbon producing well, at a first off-shore location, toform a reaction product stream comprising CO₂ and methanol; separatingCO₂ from the reaction product stream; injecting the CO₂ into the groundwithin a predetermined distance from a well; and injecting the methanolinto a second portion of the hydrocarbon gas stream at a secondoff-shore location.
 36. The method according to claim 35 whereinpartially oxidizing a first portion of a hydrocarbon gas containingstream is reacting a methane containing gas stream with an oxygencontaining stream to form a reaction product stream.
 37. The methodaccording to claim 36 further comprising directly injecting a coolantinto the reaction product stream to regulate reaction products of thereaction product stream.
 38. The method according to claim 35 furthercomprising regulating the amount of nitrogen in the first portion of thehydrocarbon gas containing stream.
 39. The method according to claim 35further comprising injecting reaction products into the near well boreregion.
 40. The method according to claim 38 wherein the reactionproducts comprise methanol.
 41. A method of producing methanolcomprising: providing a hydrocarbon gas containing stream; regulatingthe amount of nitrogen within the hydrocarbon containing stream;partially oxidizing a first portion of the hydrocarbon gas containingstream to form a reaction product comprising methanol and CO₂;separating the CO₂ from the product stream; and injecting the CO₂ intothe ground within a predetermined distance of the well.
 42. The methodaccording to claim 41 further including removing hydrocarbon componentsgreater than or equal to in molecular weight than propane from thehydrocarbon stream prior to the partial oxidation of the first portion.43. The method according to claim 42 further comprising separatingmethanol from the reaction stream.
 44. The method according to claim 43further comprising injecting the methanol into at least one of the nearwell bore or a second portion of the hydrocarbon containing gas.
 45. Themethod according to claim 42 wherein regulating the amount of nitrogenwithin the hydrocarbon containing stream is diluting the hydrocarboncontaining stream.